1. Field of the Invention
This invention pertains generally to gaming systems. More particularly, the present invention relates to a method and apparatus for promoting, encouraging, and rewarding targeted gaming device play.
2. The Prior Art
Gaming devices of various types have been in use for many years. The most common type is the conventional slot. A player operates a slot machine by providing coin or paper money, or tokens, that are received as game credits towards playing a game on the slot machine. Some machines allow a user to provide game credits in the form of a voucher, a printed coupon or a data card (e.g. magnetic strip or smart card). Once the sufficient amount of game credits has been provided to constitute a wager, the player then initiates the game, normally by pulling a handle or activating a button. If a winning event occurs, where a winning event is defined by the game being played, the slot machine issues a winning amount according to the player's wager and to a predetermined pay scheme. The game results are generally based on randomly generated events. The winning amount issued to the user is provided by a corresponding amount of game credits, which the player may redeem (cash-out) or use for further play on the slot machine. Similar game play and award schemes are provided according to other gaming devices such as video poker machines and keno machines.
Bonus and progressive awards have been introduced as improvements to conventional gaming devices to entice increased game play. A common bonus scheme is to award a player a chance to multiply the player's award winnings on a secondary or bonus stage of the game. Most bonus awards are simply an increased multiple of the primary winnings and are issued as game credits suitable for redemption or further play of the gaming device currently being played. In certain cases where the bonus award is large, manual payout by a casino attendant may be required. In some cases a non-monetary prize (e.g., a car) is made the subject of the bonus award. Like the larger monetary progressive awards, these non-monetary prizes are normally tendered manually by a casino attendant.
Progressive awards, like bonus awards, also normally comprise simple monetary credits, but typically comprise a large jackpot amount. Progressive awards couple more than one gaming machine, where some amount of the money a player spends at each gaining machine goes into a central award or “pot”. The players of each coupled machine compete for the progressive award. The overall result is that a significantly larger award can be won by a player playing progressive games at a coupled machine than can be won at an individual gaming machine. Upon the occurrence of a specific game result, the progressive award is issued to the player. Since the progressive award is normally large, it is normally paid manually by a casino attendant or cashier.
Another prior art gaming implementation is known as “investment bonus”. An example of this type of game is the 1937 Mills “Bonus Bell” game which provides a primary slot reel game, and a secondary investment bonus game (or “come-on” feature). During play the word “BONUS” could be spelled out by hitting the correct letters in sequence on the first reel for an eighteen (18) coin award. This type of game is generally referred to as an “investment bonus” game, because the player invests in continued play of the same machine to achieve the requirements for the bonus award (e.g., in the Mills' game completing the word “BONUS”). If the player were to terminate play of the investment game prior to completing the requirements for the bonus award (e.g., the player only completes “BON”), the player normally forfeits the player's prior investments (“BON”) and must later fulfill the requirements anew. Furthermore, a subsequent player may “take over” a previous player's investment by commencing play of the investment bonus game after the previous player vacates the machine.
Current gaming devices and methods, while suitable for normal award credit payout and one-time non-monetary prize payout, have some particular disadvantages. First, current gaining schemes are not well suited for awarding prizes having a hierarchical arrangement which require a player to collect two or more “winning events” towards the redemption of an award. This is especially true where the winning events may be derived from two or more gaming machines. For example, in conventional bonus, secondary, or investment bonus games, the player may accumulate points towards redemption of a bonus prize. An example of such points may be spaces on a game board such as tic-tac-toe or Monopoly™ or in the case of the Mills game, a collection of letters to form the word “BONUS”. Once the player has accumulated the sufficient number of (e.g., collection of or arrangement of) game points, the player may be awarded a bonus prize. However, current systems do not allow a player to collect the player's game points on one machine for usage on a secondary machine for further collection of points toward prize redemption. Nor do current systems provide the collection of points on one machine for redemption of awards on another machine or a central (or separate) prize station. Current systems also fail to provide for collection of points on one machine for later aggregation with the same machine during subsequent play.
Furthermore, current systems do not provide for a multi-level or investment style schemes for non-monetary prizes. As noted above, current bonus or progressive prizes present a single jackpot, perhaps at various prize levels. However, current systems fail to provide for accumulation of lower prize awards for subsequent opportunities at achieving higher level award prizes based on the accumulation of lower prize awards.
Current gaining machines also have limited, if any, ability to incorporate non-gaming, intra-gaming, or inter-gaining promotional awards into game play, precluding a potential source of player participation and interest.
Current systems that have attempted to partially address some of these limitations of individual gaming devices are themselves still limited. The attempted solutions fall into two broad categories: player tracking points and some sort of promotional coupons or credits.
Player tracking points usually takes the form of players identifying themselves to a central server in a particular casino via the gaming machines using a player ID card (typically a magnetic strip card). The central server tracks the number of play (“lever pulls”) or amount of money a player wagers. Depending on the amount of plays or money wagered, the player is given player points, translating into various prizes (“comps”) given by the casino to the player.
Promotional credits are usually some form of coupon or ticket that, when redeemed at a particular casino, will give the player a certain number of free game plays. The coupons function like tokens; in fact, it is usually the case that the coupons are redeemed for tokens and the player then uses the tokens in the games of their choice.
These solutions have significant limitations. The awards or credits are casino-wide, having no further method of targeting usage. The awards are based on simple, linear criteria (i.e., given away in a generic form or based on a single element having a one dimensional scale such as amount of money wagered). Additionally the effect on gaining devices is limited to free play (additional game credits).
Thus, there is a long-felt need to improve upon the current methods and apparatus for providing additional incentive to playing games that goes beyond the relatively simple awards of game play credits or casino-wide comps.
According to some jurisdictions, gaming is restricted to lottery-based play, where a game results is selected from a fixed pool of outcomes, rather than from a randomly generated event. These systems also provide for similar bonus or progressive structures as described above utilizing fixed-pool schemes. The needs outlined above for an award and redemption system having movable game points or credits are also needed in lottery-based gaming environments.